We made it out to Montana with the three horses, Ted, and the dogs. It was a rather grueling trip with many small things going wrong, but at least we were safe and nothing terrible happened. Pictured is one of the very old origional buildings that was on the place in Montana where we stayed. The old cabins were very neat and great for photos; unfortunately, I only got a couple. Barrett went to look for a private spot, and both Weasel and Ted reckoned that he needed some help. They are very good and often annoying that way, but we like 'em.
We had a beautiful October that was unseasonably warm with no snow, but shortly into Novermber, we ended up with some--nothing crazy, perhaps 8 to 10 inches, but it was nigh impossible to get out of our camping spot that was set back into the property down a large hill. Despite the inconvinience, we enjoyed a little taste of actual winter and stayed very snug in our tent (which is military vintage from the Korean war; our is the "arctic tent") and we drank lots of homemade hot chocolate!
This is a shot inside of the tent. At the far left, you can see the pole that holds it up (our bed is on the other side) and the Ursa and Weasle are napping there in the middle; Weasel is toward the back next to the laundry and the clothing bins; and Ursa is up front, next to the woodstove and the kindling chopping block. But as November crept on, we knew it was becoming urgent that we leave and head down to Utah to work for Boo for the winter. The snow, evidently, was not incentive enough, but the 60 to 80 mph winds that picked up were! It became impossible to sleep in the tent (it flapped around viciously, and we worried it would rend), impossible to get anything accomplished, and there was a huge storm rolling in that gave us one more prodding to leave while we still had the option! We packed up everything and finally were pulling out of Livingston around 9:00 pm and headed South!
Here is a different picture...this is looking out our bedroom window here in Spork. It is a huge change from Montana, and not at all what either of us are used to. The horses and Ted are staying in Heber with my Uncle, and us and the dogs are staying here. I'm afraid the suburbs have not "grown" on either us or the dogs. We are enjoying all of the good company and are trying to make the most of our stay. It's true that it is not our ideal place to be, but it is another experience that we can chalk down in our books that we haven't done before.
And besides, the mountains are only a short drive away...
